For Steve Kerr, Jonathan Kuminga brings new qualities to the Warriors | NBA

For their recovery after the All Star break, the Warriors moved to Oregon. While the Blazers are still evolving without Damian Lillard, and now without CJ McCollum, Norman Powell or Robert Covington all traded before the “deadline” and even without Jusuf Nurkic, placed in the infirmary for the end of the season, Golden State was able to have fun with an easy victory (132-95), marked by the good performance of his rookie, Jonathan Kuminga.

Author of 17 points, plus 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, Kuminga made his power speak against a featherless interior sector. Above all, with his 10/12 in throws, he managed to materialize the pressure he imposed on the opposing defense.

“JK is progressing day by day”welcomes Kerr on NBC Sports. “One of the reasons Bob drafted him is his athleticism and strength. It’s something that we haven’t had much in our squad historically. We obviously had a lot of great talent and great technicians, but having this strength and this explosiveness adds an extra dimension to our team. “

Considered one of his biggest weak points at the time of his Draft, free throws allowed Kuminga to register 10 of his 17 points in a record evening, with 10 successes out of 12 attempts, knowing that his previous mark capped at 6 successes…

“He’s one of the best athletes I’ve seen at his age,” adds Klay Thompson. “I think he has a dry trigger close to the meter, he is incredibly strong and we could see it in this match. This dunk he placed after the feint, it was unique! “

In progress in throwing, but not only…

Besides his progress in throwing, Kuminga is clearly a reason for hope for the Dubs with his defensive presence. Finding themselves face to face several times, perilous, against Anfernee Simons, the interior of the Warriors held up well, causing an interception and a counter against the new star of the Blazers.

Better, Kuminga also managed a 3-pointer late in the game, another area where he knows he must improve to express his full potential. But the rookie passed by the G-League also knows that his current role is not to send bombs from afar when he plays alongside the Splash Bros!

“I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think the team needs me to shoot outside,” smiled the rookie. “We have at least seven shooters, three of whom are among the best in the League. I don’t need to look for 3-point shots when I know I can get to the free throw line a lot easier. We have very good shooters so I don’t need to shoot. “

Complementary to Draymond Green

Perfectly in the mold of the Warriors with this collective mentality and this acute awareness of his role in the team, Jonathan Kuminga could well prove to be an essential pawn in the future of the Californian franchise. His physical and explosive interior profile could be very complementary to Draymond Green, the local Minister of Defence.

In any case, Kuminga chained a 9th game in a row to 10 points or more in February. At 15 points and 4 rebounds on average over the current month, all at 60% on shots and 33% from 3-pointers, the native of Congo is taking an increasingly important place in the rotation of Coach Kerr.